Yes, We're Monsters
by Ariaprincess
Summary: Matthew always knew he was different. Strange people talking to him, encounters with people that didn't seem...quite human. On his fifteenth birthday, Matthew is taken away to a strange school. A school for monsters. Everything seems to be going fine, but when a rogue band of humans decides to attack the academy, what will happen? Rated T for slight gore and Lovi's mouth. [OLD FIC]
1. Chapter 1: Afraid

**I wrote and rewrote this like, five times, and it finally turned out okay. I'm kinda nervous about this one, so please tell me what you think!**

Matthew always knew he was different.

His mother called it "special." His dad called it "freakish." His brother called it "creepy." But Matthew didn't mind. They usually didn't notice him anyway, and when they did, it was usually to comment about how they didn't notice him before. He blended into the shadows, and he liked it that way.

Matthew always attracted the weirdest attention.

His mother found him once, when he was around five, in the backyard, talking away to nobody. His mother asked who he was talking to, and Matthew replied, "My bear, Kumajira." His mom smiled, and left it alone. Little kids always had imaginary friends, right?

She didn't expect the behavior to continue when thirteen years old.

She found Matthew talking to absolutely nobody often. When he was in the park, he would read out loud to his friends, who he called Matthieu and Matt. He would play tag with shadows and hug the air. His mom finally had enough, she thought something could be wrong with the child himself.

"Sweetie, you know your...friends...aren't real, right?"

Matthew blinked once.

"You mean... you don't see them?"

His mom nodded. The matter was never brought up again.

Until Matthew's fifteenth birthday.

...

Matthew lay on the bed, thinking to himself.

 _Hey, Mattie, come on and play with us! We're so bored!_

Matthew smiled at the boy who sat next to his bed, cross legged.

"I can't, Matthieu, I'm not allowed to. You aren't real."

Matthieu huffed. _Ever since your mom talked to you, you aren't any fun anymore!_

"I'm too old for imaginary friends."

 _I'm not imaginary!_

There was a knock on the door. "Mattie? Are you-"

"No, mom! Everything's fine!" Matthew yelled back. He waited until he heard footsteps, then turned back to the bedside. Matthieu was gone. Matthew sighed.

"Happy birthday to me."

...

As Matthew blew out the fifteen candles on his cake, a smile crept onto his face. He was fifteen years old now, one year away from driving! He waited as his mom cut four pieces of cake, then dug into the sweet treat. Maple, with maple syrup frosting. His favorite.

"Happy birthday, little bro!" His brother yelled from across the table. Matthew smiled. "T-thanks."

After much present opening (a new hockey stick from his brother, a sketchbook from his mother, and some new shin guards from his dad) the family sat down to watch a movie, _The Nightmare Before Christmas._ Lord knows how his brother got scared from watching it, but Matthew liked it a lot. After the movie was over, Matthew thanked his parents, then headed upstairs to get changed for bed.

As he drifted off to sleep that night, Matthew thought about the day's events. Overall, he decided, it was probably his best birthday ever. At least, the one with the least fighting.

...

He woke up in the middle of the night, listening to his parents argue.

 _They're talking about you._ A voice whispered in Matthew's ear. He turned, and all he could see were a pair of bright purple eyes, floating in the darkness. Matthew turned back to the door, creeping to the top of the stairs to listen.

"They have to know soon enough! We can't hide this forever!"

"They're only fifteen! We can't afford to send them away yet, they're too young!"

"But what are the chances? Two monsters in the same family, it's sickening!"

"Don't talk about them that way!"

"I'm going to tell them."

"No!"

"They have to know. Summer's almost over. Term starts soon."

There was a sigh, and his mother's voice carried a hint of longing as she replied, "Fine. Go ahead. We'll tell them tomorrow."

Matthew raced back to his bed, mulling over what he had just heard.

 _I can't wait until tomorrow. Can't you, Mattie?_

...

Matthew rolled out of bed, yawning. He pulled on his clothes in a half asleep daze, and thumped down the stairs to breakfast. Sliding into his chair, he grabbed the maple syrup bottle and poured a sizable amount onto his pancakes before stabbing them with his fork.

"Hey, bro." Alfred stumbled in behind him, also tired and yawning. "Pancakes? Awesome." He grabbed two and smeared butter on them, stuffing them into his mouth.

"Don't be a pig." Matthew sighs. "We don't have school today, remember? It's summer. It's been summer for two months."

"Oh, yeah." Alfred grinned and picked up his knife and fork. After eating for a few minutes, his parents entered the room.

"Alfred? Matthew? We have something to tell you."

Matthew froze mid-bite. "Mom? Dad?"

The two sat down, looking at them with pity.

"It's very important, so pay attention."

His mother cleared her throat, and began.

"Once upon a time, a long time ago-"

"In a galaxy far, far away." Alfred finished, grinning. The looks he received were so annoyed that he slunk down in his seat. "Sorry."

" _Ahem."_ His mother continued. "There was a blessing, set upon the land, by a gentle and kind god. The blessing was that for 100 years, the people would have no war, diseases, or famine. The people thrived, thanks to this blessing, and good was brought to the world."

"Sounds awesome." Alfred grinned.

"However, no gift comes without a price. In exchange, once in a while, families would give birth to children that weren't...human. Putting evil back into the world in exchange for the evil purged from it."

Matthew didn't like the sound of this.

"The blessing expired around fifty years ago, but the curse was never lifted. Nobody knows why." His mother looked at them with pity in her eyes.

"So..." Alfred looked at his hands. "I'm not a monster...am I?"

No response. His mother simply looked at him with contempt in her eyes. His father did nothing, but merely looked at them in the same way.

"Stop looking at me like that!" Alfred yelled suddenly. "Like I'm a poor, kicked puppy on the side of the street!"

"Honey-"

"I'm not a monster! I'm not, I'm not, I'm not!" Alfred protested. His father's face was steadily growing red.

"I didn't mean it like that, it's not a bad thing!"

"I'm Alfred! You hear me? I'm not different just because apparently I'm a monster all of a sudden! You didn't look at me like this before!" Alfred screamed. His dad finally lost it.

"You're a freak! We never asked to give birth to a monster child! Both of you, you're freaks! But you're going away now, and maybe we can live like a normal family again! A normal family, without any monsters." His father yelled.

Alfred looked betrayed, a look of hurt spreading across his face. Then, suddenly, something changed. He leapt at his father, his body elongating and shrinking. His face grew into a long snout, sprouting black fur and bright white fangs.

The white fangs now stained with his father's blood.

The wolf that was Alfred ripped and tore at his father's throat, spreading blood across the clean white kitchen tiles.

Matthew also felt something rising up in his throat, a flash of white-hot anger bubbling up and lashing out. He also screamed, but it wasn't a scream, it was a guttural hiss. Looking at his hands, he clenched them into fists. His skin was turning crimson red, his eyes filling up with black, like pools of pitch. He screamed again, and something rose out of him, something smoky and unformed, and lunged at his mother. She started to choke, her face turning blue, and she started coughing. Matthew whispered, _harder, choke her harder,_ and whatever the thing was, it obeyed. His mother fell to the ground, thrashing, but the shadow held her fast, and finally, she stopped thrashing.

The red of Matthew's skin faded to its regular cream, his eyes returning back to violet. He turned to his brother, who was standing over his father's mangled corpse. He was slowly changing back to boy, and the two of them looked at each other, fear in their eyes.

"What have we done?"


	2. Chapter 2: An Incubus

Matthew sank into one of the chairs at the kitchen table, a lone tear trickling down his cheek.

"We...we killed them." He said weakly.

"I know." Alfred continued scrubbing at his hands, trying to remove all the blood from his skin. The kitchen dish soap didn't really make a dent, so he turned to Matthew pitifully.

"Help?"

"Get some regular soap, that dish soap isn't going to help you."

Alfred ran to the bathroom, Matthew following him. As Alfred dumped half the bottle of soap on his hands, Matthew asked, "What are we going to do now?"

"I don't know." Alfred replied. "Technically, we've killed people, so... we're criminals?"

"We're only kids, I think that we'd just go to juvie. Right?" Matthew whispered.

 _You're in trouble, Mattie darling!_

"Shut up, Matthieu!" Matthew hissed.

"Mattie, who's Matthieu?"

Matthew's face turned white. "I would say one of my imaginary friends, but I don't think that's true anymore."

 _Oh, did somebody finally find out the truth?_

"Matthieu, if you don't shut up I'm going to strangle you."

 _That's not very nice. Not after I helped you with that evil woman._

"That was you?"

"Who are you talking to?"

"Shut up, Alfred! I'm trying to have a conversation here!"

 _Yes, that was me. Here, I think I can manifest. Turn on all the lights and open the window._

Matthew did so, with Alfred looking at him strangely the whole way. When he was finished, he turned to where Matthieu was standing.

Where he was standing, was a shadow up against the wall. A shadow that belonged to nobody.

 _Tada!_

Alfred jumped. "W-who was that?"

 _I'm Matthieu, I'm a shadow! Pretty cool, huh?_

"Matthew, make him go away!"

 _Aw, Mattie, your brother's no fun._

"Apparently all of my 'imaginary friends' were...shadows, I guess? There's another named Matt, and I think a bear...his name was...Kuma-gyro?"

 _Kumajiro._

"Whatever. Anyways, I guess I can speak to shadows...I guess."

 _Mmhmm. Great job, Mattie, you just killed your parents! How do you feel?_

Matthew rolled his eyes. "Matthieu is a crybaby, a whiner, and really enthusiastic about everything. He's kinda bratty."

 _Am not!_

"Shut up. I think Matt was rather stoic, and Kuma-weirdo-"

 _Kumajiro._

"Whatever! He was really cute and cuddly, but he always forgot my name."

 _Sound familiar?_

"Matthieu, I swear to the holy maple leaf-"

"Okay, I get it." Alfred was chuckling. "So, I guess you are a shadow master. Great. But what am I?"

"You, um, changed into an animal. You think you can try it again?"

Alfred's response was to close his eyes, take a deep breath, and morph into a giant white dog.

"W-wow."

Alfred barked and wagged his tail wildly. Matthew patted him on the head and turned back to Matthieu.

"Do you know what he is?"

"He's a skinwalker." An unknown voice commented. Matthew turned, and saw a strange figure standing in the doorway to the bathroom. He had bright red hair, olive green eyes, and a large pair of batlike wings. His devilish tail curved and wound around his legs, and two, rather small, horns jutted out from his head. He was holding a briefcase, and the black suit he wore hugged his figure rather alluringly.

"Arthur Kirkland, incubus. And we have a lot to talk about."

...

Matthew smiled at Arthur. "H-hello."

"Mm. Hello. Can we move to the living room? It's rather small in here."

 _Aw, come on, who doesn't like a healthy "discussing their future and rather limited life choices meeting" in a bathroom?_

"Tell your shadow to shut its idiotically large trap and join me in the living room. You, not the shadow." The demon growled before gesturing to Alfred and Matthew.

 _Personally, I find it rather enjoyable._ Matthieu muttered before folding in on himself and vanishing. Matthew followed Alfred out of the bathroom and shut the door behind him.

Once they were all situated in the living room, Arthur wasted no time cutting to the chase.

"So, you've just figured out that you're monsters, you killed your parents, and now you have no idea what to do." Arthur sighed. "Correct?"

"Mmhmm." Matthew sighed.

"Open and shut case." Arthur rummaged through his briefcase before pulling out two pieces of paper.

"Mind filling out this form? It'll only take a minute."

Alfred was still gaping at the man. Arthur looked at him expectantly, and Alfred said the first thing that came to mind.

"Your eyebrows are huge!"

Arthur growled, not the "I'm slightly pissed off at you" growl that humans used, but an actual, animalistic growl.

"Nobody ever notices the suit, the wings, the horns, the hair. It's always the bloody eyebrows." He shoved the paper at Alfred, handed the other paper politely to Matthew, and sunk back down into his chair, glaring at Alfred. The two boys looked at the paper, then back at Arthur. This lasted a few minutes before Matthew cleared his throat.

"Um, you haven't given us anything to write with."

Arthur flushed, then went back to the briefcase, muttering to himself. He withdrew two pens, handed them to the boys, then snapped the briefcase shut. Matthew turned his attention back to the form.

 _Name? Matthew Williams._

 _Age? Uh, fifteen._

 _Monster Identity? Um..._

"Mister Arthur?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Is there a technical term for what I...for what I am?"

Arthur nodded. "You're a shadow walker."

Alfred grinned. "Mattie, that sounds totally boss! My 'monster identity' sounds like a cannibal or somethin'."

Mattie scratched, _Shadow walker,_ onto the paper with his pen.

 _Parents: Alive or deceased?_

With a sigh, Matthew filled in the _Deceased_ bubble.

 _Grade? Tenth, I guess._

 _Sexuality? Um, I guess I'm Pan... that's kinda personal, isn't it?_

 _Will share a room with..._ Matthew just scratched down, _I don't care._

"Um, I'm done with the form." Matthew handed the form to Arthur, who gently folded it in half and placed in his briefcase.

"Me too!" Arthur gingerly took Alfred's form and folded it in half, then put it back in the briefcase.

"So, what was that for?" Alfred cocked his head.

"Your application form for World W Academy." Arthur said calmly.

"A school?"

"Yes, it accepts monsters from all over the world, hence the name."

"Cool! Is that why it asked who we would want to room with?"

"Right. There is also a village next to the school, for when we graduate. For instance, I live there now, since I graduated two years ago, with my roommate, Francis Bonnefoy."

"What's he?"

Arthur coughed. "He's a siren. Bloody infuriating creatures with bloody seductive voices." Alfred smiled sheepishly. "And you are..."

"I've already told you, I'm an incubus. It's like a demon."

"Isn't that a demon that charms women..and or men...in their sleep?" Matthew said softly. Arthur's face turned red.

"Y-yes... anyway, I'll be taking you there now."

"Cool, you have a car!"

"No." Arthur closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened his briefcase again. He started setting up some weird candles on the hardwood floor, and he drew a symbol connecting them all in a pentagram formation.

"What are you-" Alfred started to ask, but Arthur just glared at him and lit the candles gingerly.

" _Audite me, fratres scientibus. Alium introitum aperiam! Volo fratres meos illic! Potest etiam habere aliquam scones? Quia scones sunt prodigiosus!"_

The pentagram was set ablaze, the fire a strange shade of green. Arthur blew out the fire on the candles, and the pentagram folded in on itself to create a strange, gaping hole. Arthur gestured to the hole.

"Jump!"

Alfred wasted no time running to the portal and jumping in, screaming, "YOLO!" Matthew was more cautious, but eventually slid into the portal. He saw Arthur jump in after him, and then... all he could see was black.

 **Yes, Arthur's chant was in Latin. Virtual glomp to anybody who figures out what the words mean! Thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and follows!**

 **-Aria**


	3. Chapter 3: A Whole New World

**Kya! Here is the third update! I'm sorry I don't have a regular updating schedule, there is an awful disease called school. Anyway, thank you for all the support you've given me, and happy belated thanksgiving!**

Matthew landed on two legs with a thump, stumbling and almost pitching face first into the dirt. Alfred, however, wasn't so lucky, and Matthew could see him lying in the earth like a rag doll.

"Ow.."

Arthur also landed on two feet, touching down gently on his tiptoes and then bouncing on the balls of his feet a few times before striding briskly to Alfred. He looked at him for a few seconds, smirking, before planting his foot in Alfred's side.

"Ow! Dude, not cool!"

"Get up, we need to get you to the office before it closes." Arthur extended a slender hand to the boy on the floor, and Alfred took it, pulling himself to his feet, slightly off balance.

"T-thanks. When does the office close?"

Arthur checked his wristwatch. Alfred had to stifle a chuckle.

"Who uses watches anymore? I mean, come on, we have cellphones." Arthur shot him a look.

"Cell phones can be unreliable. And the office closes in... fifteen minutes. Come on." And with that, he strode off in a different direction, towards a large black building in the distance. Matthew ran after him, Alfred in pursuit.

"W-wait up!"

Matthew, ignoring the pleading of his brother, looked around as he walked. They were walking on some kind of blackish earth, crumbling underneath the heel of his shoes. He scooped a small handful and rubbed it between his fingers. It felt slightly fluffy, like breadcrumbs. There was a lot of vegetation, surprisingly, and it looked relatively normal, aside from the couple that were blackened and crispy. Matthew tugged at Arthur's sleeve, puzzled.

"The trees-"

"Target practice." Arthur said simply. "There are actual targets, of course, but some students just can't help themselves. Reckless idiots." He scoffed, checked his watch, and began to pick up his pace. The academy was drawing closer, lighted windows lighting up the otherwise dark night.

"Hurry up, we only have 10 minutes!" Arthur yelled. Alfred yelled back, "It's okay, I got this!" His form changed, growing and bubbling until Alfred was a very nice looking palamino horse.

"Nice."

Matthew clambered onto Alfred's back, Arthur refusing.

"I have wings for a reason. Now come on." His wings beat twice, and he lifted himself into the air, face contorted. Alfred set off at a gallop, Matthew hanging on for dear life, Arthur flying behind them.

...

When they arrived at the academy, Alfred, to the shock of some students, changed back into his regular form, grinning.

"That was awesome!"

"And we still have three minutes." Arthur said, landing beside them and folding his wings neatly behind him.

"Let's run." Matthew suggested. Lucky for them, the office was on the first floor. Arthur checked them in at the front desk, the receptionist bring a bright and friendly woman who just happened to have the head of a frog. She smiled warmly at them, at least they thought it was a smile, (frogs don't generally have a wide range of facial expressions) before inquiring further.

"Name?"

"Arthur Kirkland, escort to Matthew Williams and Alfred F. Jones."

"New students?"

"Yes."

"Monster identities?"

"Skinwalker and shadow walker."

"Ooh, those are very interesting monster forms! Let me see..." She tapped on the keyboard for a few minutes before replying.

"We have two empty spots in dorm 24-B. B is the dorm building, 24 is the room number. You're both 15, right?" After receiving two nods, she continued. "There are two sets of pajamas waiting for you. We'll have uniforms ready tomorrow, okay? Oh, and be careful of your roommates. They're siblings too!" She gave each of them a strangely shaped key before waving them goodbye. Arthur led the way, his pace a little slower than before.

"If I know who your roommates are, and I think I do, you're in for a very exciting life here at school." Arthur muttered.

"You know who they are?"

"I think so. They are…rather infamous here."

Matthew got a slight wave of displeasure emanating from the incubus. "For doing what?"

"One of them is really hyper, the other quite foul-mouthed. But that's not why." Arthur sighed. "They're the grandsons of the most powerful monster ever, Typhon. Perhaps you've heard of him?" Matthew's blood chilled. "Y-yes. Wasn't he the one that almost destroyed the world?" "That's the one." "I thought that was a myth."

"You're a shadow walker, dude. I think you can assume that Typhon's real as well." Alfred laughed as they approached the dormitories.

"Building B, this is it." Arthur pushed open the door and ushered them through. The building was eerily quiet, not full of the chatter they expected.

"10...11...12...13.." Arthur counted off the numbers on each door. When Matthew looked closer, he could see names written on small whiteboards attached to each door. The handwriting was different for every name, but they were always in groups of three or four. _Roderich, Elizaveta, Gilbert. Raivis, Eduard, Toris, Feliks._ They turned a corner.

"Are the dorms restricted by age?"

"No. We have quite a few dorms with seniors mixing with middle schoolers. As long as nobody dies or is severely injured, it's allowed."

Matthew sighed. Hopefully his roommates wouldn't be seniors, that would be rather scary. Arthur continued counting off numbers.

"20...21...22...23...24! Here we are." Arthur knocked twice on the door. "Hello?"

"What the fuck do you want?"

"Be polite, Lovi. Yes, who is it?" Two conflicting voices answered the door.

"Um, we're your new roommates." Matthew whispered, barely loud enough for them to hear.

"Cool! You two have keys, right?"

"Yeah."

Alfred stuck his key in the lock and turned. The door swung open, revealing two, very similar looking, people. One looked very happy to see them, the other looked irritated and cross.

"Ve, how nice to see you! I'm Feliciano Vargas, this is my _fratello_ , Lovino, and we're going to be your new roommates forever and ever until we turn 18! What are your names? How old are you? Do you like pasta?"

Matthew was a little shocked by the force of all the questions coming at him. Luckily, Alfred came to his rescue. Sort of.

"Yo! I'm Alfred F. Jones, I'm 15, I love pasta (though not as much as hamburgers), and I'm totally stoked to meet you too!"

"Ve, how awesome!" Feliciano giggled. "You can call me Feli. Now come in, we can have some dinner, and then you can tell me everything."

"Dinner? But it was breakfast time..."

"Time is different here. When the world above us wakes, we sleep." Feli said solemnly. "Anyway, come in, come in, ve~!"

"What about the other one?" His brother said, slightly ticked off.

"What other one? Oh, right there. Hello!"

"Hi..." Matthew said, a little sadly. "I'm Matthew Williams, I'm also 15, and pasta is nice."

"Aw, he's shy!" Feli chirped, nudging his brother. Lovino, in response, shoved him.

"It's because you're such a hyperactive idiot, you've probably frightened him with your excessive happiness!"

"Who could be frightened by happiness, ve?" Feli invited Matthew, Arthur, and Alfred in. " _Ciao,_ Arthur!"

"Hello, Feli, Lovi." Arthur inclined his head as a greeting. "I must be going, Francis will be wondering where I've been. You'll take care of them, correct?"

" _Si, si,_ I'm sure we'll all be best buds!" Feli wrapped his arm around Matthew and squeezed him into a hug.

'F-feli, you're choking me."

"Oopsie!" Feli released him and skipped off deeper into the room. Alfred, Matthew, and Lovino followed, the former laughing obnoxiously, the middle one smiling shyly, and the latter grumbling away about how idiotic his brother could be.

The dorm was surprisingly roomy, there was a living room of sorts, a small kitchen, and an upstairs area that Matthew guessed housed bedrooms. Feli led them all into the kitchen before banging a bunch of pots and pans around to start making pasta.

"So, what kind of monsters are you?" Feli asked cheerily as he poured dry pasta into a pot of bubbling water.

"Um, I'm a skinwalker, and Mattie is a shadow walker." Alfred answered.

"Ve, you two are cool!" Feli smiled. "Very spooky."

"What about you?" Mattie inquired.

"I'm a wraith, ve, and Lovi's-"

"I'm a hydra." Lovino interrupted. "Not a multi-headed creepy snake thing, as Feli puts it."

"But that's what you are!" Feli pouted.

"But... you both look human." Alfred cocked his head in befuddlement.

"Yeah, you can't expect us to go walking around looking like dragons all day, right? These are our avatars. Every non-humanoid has one. You two are both humanoids, so you don't need one, though I guess Alfred's current form can count as an avatar." Lovino said, sighing.

"Can you show us your true forms?"

"Ve, I don't want to, mine scares me." Feli whimpered, stirring a large pot of red liquid.

"Don't be a wimp. I'll go first." Lovi strode over to one of the kitchen counters and picked up a large meat cleaver. He handed it to Feli.

"Make it quick, please."

Feli giggled, and with one quick stroke, he lopped off Lovi's head. The dismembered body part tumbled to the floor, an expression of disdain still frozen upon its face. Alfred shrieked.

"Dude! Heads don't just grow back!"

"Hydra's do." Matthew said softly.

With a small _pop,_ two long necks sprouted from the stump of Lovi's former neck, each with a scowling Lovi head perched on top.

"Happy?"

"Dude, that's awesome!" Alfred seemed awestruck by the two headed being.

"It'll only last the night." "Enjoy it." The heads spoke, one after the other. "Feli, your turn."

Feli winced. "Do I have to?"

"For fuck's sake, just get it over with." Both of Lovi's heads said in unison.

Feli sighed, then closed his eyes. Starting at his forehead and working down, the flesh rotted from his face and peeled to the ground, leaving gaping patches of bone. His fingers melted down to stubs of white, and his hair turned dry and brittle, like bleached straw. His eye sockets filmed over, skin closing them off, leaving only a blank expanse of skin where they once lay, and he let out a small squeal as spikes protruded from his back. His mouth expanded and widened to a disgusting maw _,_ showing bright white fangs. Two extra sets of arms burst free, disgusting appendages akin to scythes, and around five tentacles sprouted beside his legs.

"Ve, I don't like it." Feli's voice sounded weird coming from this disgusting creature. Alfred whimpered.

"You...you..."

"This is a wraith." Lovi sighed. "Much more scary than a 'multi-headed creepy snake thing'." Feli whimpered, a strange sound to be coming from the abomination before them.

"Can I change back now?"

"Fine." Lovi sighed. "You need to get used to it, you will need it in your exams and classwork, you idiot."

"But everyone gets scared of me when I'm like this!" Feli moaned as he slowly began the painful transformation back to his regular self.

" _Idiota,_ the sauce is burning!" Lovi ran to the stove, one of his heads focused on the food while the other rebuked Feliciano.

"Um, Feli?"

"Mmhmm?" Feli said pitifully, his sealed off eye sockets bursting open with a sickening _pop._

"Do you want me to show you my form? If it'll make you feel better, mine's pretty scary too."

Feli nodded. "S-sure, ve."

Matthew nodded at Alfred, who gave him the thumbs up. Without needing any further agreement, Matthew thrust out his arms and let the change overcome him, his skin reddening and pulsing as his eyes filled with pitch black. Smoky tendrils poured out of his mouth and surrounded him as his hair stood on end, the lights in the room flickering. Feli whimpered again.

"S-spooky."

Matthew grinned, a sight eerie to behold, as his teeth had lengthened into long white needles. Alfred patted him on the back, but then shrieked. Touching him had burned his hand, the flesh red and raw. Matthew sighed. "S-sorry." He murmured, his voice distorted and warped into a disturbing groan of sorts.

' _Bout time. I've been waiting for ages._

"Ve, who was that?!" Feli shrieked.

"My shadow friend, Matthieu. He's an annoying bastard and I _really don't require his presence at the moment."_ Matthew hissed the last part through gritted teeth.

 _Sorry, boss. I'll just take my leave now, seeing as you don't love me anymore, obviously._

"Don't be such a drama queen." Matthew snickered.

 _Goodbye forever, my former friend!_ There was a tingle of static, and Matthieu's presence vanished.

"I-Is he gone?" Feli cowered behind Lovino, who slapped him and told him to get away from him before he bit his sorry ass off. With both heads.

"Mmhmm. Should I change back now?"

"I b-believe that would be the best decision." Lovi said, totally not the least bit scared, nope! Matthew closed his eyes once more and moaned as the color drained from his skin and eyes, the shadows disappearing through his mouth.

"And Alfred? What can you do?" Feli asked, slightly more cheerful now that the room lights weren't flickering and all the scary shadows were gone.

"This." Alfred jumped off his chair onto the table, smiling wildly. With a small _fizz_ , he twisted and shrunk into a small bunny rabbit and landed on the table with a gentle and loping grace.

"Kya! How adorable, ve!" Feli picked Alfred up and started stroking him, murmuring sweet nothings in italian.

"Feli..."

" _Come carino, sei così adorabile,_ hmm? Yes?"

"That's still Alfred, even he is a bunny."

Feli pressed Rabbit Alfred to his cheek, smiling. "He's so cute though! Like a small, teeny-tiny furball!"

With a _crack,_ Feli was cheek to cheek with a grinning american. "Really?"

Feli screamed and dropped the heavy package like a hot coal, clinging to Lovi and receiving a nip on the shoulder for his efforts.

"Alfred!"

"What?" Alfred grinned sheepishly. "He said I was adorable!"

"When you're a rabbit, yes. Now, come on _idioti_ , the pasta's done." Lovi's second head, which had been minding the pasta during this whole exchange. Whilst Feli set the table for four, Lovi poured piping-hot pasta onto four plates and ladled tomato sauce over the whole thing. Passing out the plates, Lovi muttered about what a pain his little _fratello_ was, and how he didn't need to the cooking tonight, he already had so much on his plate, no pun intended. With a small "Thanks for the food," They all dug into their meal. Matthew was surprised as how the pasta was so good; he hadn't tasted pasta better than this in most restaurants. Alfred had tomato sauce all over his face so, with a small snicker, Matthew handed him a napkin.

"Wipe your face off, you big baby."

Alfred, sighing, wiped his face off and threw the napkin away, and proceeded to eat, though a little bit politer.

Once the meal was done, Feli took the plates over to the sink and proceeded to wash them.

"Lovino will show you to your bedrooms, okay?"

Lovino groaned and pointed upstairs.

"There are two with our names on them, so obviously those aren't yours. Your stuff is already there."

"How?" Alfred asked.

"Don't ask me, I can't do magic." Lovi shrugged. "Anyway, the red door is Matthew's, and the blue door is Alfred's."

"Sweet! Thanks for dinner and all that! See you tomorrow!"

Alfred ran upstairs with all the grace of a fighter jet. Matthew turned to Lovi and Feli.

"Thanks for letting us be your roommates. It's really nice of you to put up with us for a long period of time."

"It's not like we had a ch-" Feli clapped a hand over his brother's mouth.

"No problem! You two seem really nice!"

"Um, to thank you, can I make breakfast tomorrow?"

"Okie-dokie! One less chore for me!" Feli smiled. Lovi groaned. "Feli..."

"See you tomorrow." Matthew headed upstairs before he could hear Lovino reprimand Feli for the umpteenth time.

...

Slowly pushing the red door open, Matthew smiled as he remembered a video game he had once played with red and blue doors. He flipped on the light switch, and let out a small cry.

All of his favorite items were there, his hockey poster, his hockey stick, the sketchbook, and, a new item, a big stuffed polar bear. There was a big bed pushed up against one of the walls, and a closet on the left side of the bed. Matthew pushed it open to find a pair of white pajamas patterned with red maple leaves. Pulling them on, he heard Alfred's delighted yell that he had Marvel pajamas. Sliding into bed, he considered something, then pulled the stuffed polar bear up next to him, cuddling it close. As he slowly drifted off to sleep, one thought passed through his mind.

 _Why does this feel more like home than my old house?_


	4. Chapter 4: Bacon is Good Death is Bad

**Shit gets real in this chapter. Just warning you.**

Alfred awoke to the smell of bacon.

It was one of the best ways to wake up, for it meant three things.

1, that Matthew was making breakfast. Matthew made the best bacon ever.

2, that with the bacon, there would be pancakes. Matthew also made the best pancakes of all time.

3, BACON FOR BREAKFAST, I mean, come on. Bacon was the best.

Alfred ran to the closet and threw it open, trying to get dressed as fast as possible so he could run downstairs and eat breakfast sooner. The outfit he was provided with was sort of plain, a white shirt with a blue sweater and blue plaid pants, along with a confusing black tie. Alfred wrestled with it for a few minutes, then gave up and decided he would ask Mattie to help him. He stared at himself in the mirror for a few minutes, then pulled on his favorite bomber jacket.

 _There we go, now I don't look boring!_

He ran downstairs and slid into his chair, almost panting at the salivating smell.

"'Morning, Mattie!"

"Good morning, Alfred." Matthew, also clad in the uniform, flipped the bacon over to make sure it didn't burn. Pouring batter into a different pan, he asked Alfred, "How did you sleep?"

"Fine, fine, like a log, whatever. Is that bacon I smell?"

"Yes. Lovino and Feli let me make breakfast today as a thank-you." Matthew pulled the side of a pancake up to check if it was done, then let it fall back in the hot pan with a hiss.

" _Buongiorno, a tutti. Ho sentito l'odore pancetta, così mi sono svegliato presto. C'è la pancetta?"_

Alfred looked confused. "Dude, you're speaking Italian. I can't understand you." Feli chuckled.

"Oh, I do that sometimes when I get tired. I was just saying that I smelled bacon, so I woke up early."

"What do you mean, early? It's nine." Alfred pointed to the wall clock.

"It's Saturday. We can sleep in." Feli yawned before sitting down. "I want bacon."

"And bacon you'll get." Matthew lifted two slices of bacon onto a plate and two pancakes and placed it before Feli.

"Thank you, Mattie!" Feli smiled before picking up his knife and fork. He was about to dig in, but was blocked by Matthew's spatula.

"What about the syrup?"

"Syrup?"

"Maple syrup. You always eat maple syrup with pancakes." Matthew smiled. "Surely you have maple syrup... right?"

"Ve, we've never needed it, so, no." Feli tried to move Matthew's spatula out of the way so he could get to the pancakes, but Matthew kept blocking him with the spatula.

"What do you mean, 'no'? Maple syrup is a necessity." Matthew's face was steadily growing redder, and Alfred noticed.

"Dude, calm down. It's only maple syrup."

" _Only_ maple syrup? I don't think you understand." Matthew's eyes slowly filled with black, and he continued to block Feli with a new ferocity.

"Mattie? You're going into your shadow form again. You need to stop, _now."_ Alfred stood up, and slowly walked toward Matthew.

"Ve, I want pancakes!" Feli kept on trying to get to the fluffy baked goodness, but was continually hindered by the red spatula.

"Matthew, your pancakes are burning." Alfred said, slightly worried.

"They are? Oh, oh dear." Matthew turned back to the frying pan and flipped the pancakes over, his face slowly going back to normal.

"Yay, pancakes!" Feli finally took a bite of the pancakes, and his eyes widened.

"Ve, these are delicious!"

"What's all the fucking noise about? I'm trying to sleep, and here are you idiots going on and on about maple fucking syrup and pancakes and spatulas! Can't I get a break for once?" Lovi stomped down the stairs, now restored to one head.

"Mattie made pancakes!" Feli took another bite, enjoying the taste so immensely that his cheeks turned pink. "Food? Hmm, I guess I can forgive you." Lovi sat down next to Alfred and brushed his hair out of his face. "But I want it now."

Matthew, sighing, slid two pieces of bacon and three pancakes onto a plate before setting it in front of Lovi. "Bon appetit." Lovi nodded in thanks, and dug in. "Damn, these are good!"

"Why don't I get any?" Alfred whined.

"Cool your jets, Alfred, yours are coming." Matthew turned over some bacon to make sure it didn't burn. "This bacon is yummy! It's so crunchy!" Feli was munching on a strip of pork with gusto. Matthew chuckled. "Thank you, I'm flattered." "It's really good. I'm putting you on permanent breakfast duty." Lovi forked another piece of pancake in before chewing slowly.

"You're making me jealous." Alfred pouted, crossing his arms. Matthew, chuckling slightly, set a plate in front of him, the china clinking softly on the table. "Sweet!" Alfred attacked the pancakes, but as he chewed, he realized something was off. "Hey, these are all burnt!"

"That's what you get for being such a nag." Matthew took his own plate and sat down, instinctively reaching for a non-existent syrup bottle. "Oh." Before they could have another outburst, the doorbell conveniently rang.

"Ve, that'll be Arthur! I invited him over today! And he said he'd bring friends!"

"Great, more people." Lovino grumbled as Feli swung the door open.

"Hello Arthur and Arthur's friends! Come on in!" Feli cooed, finger waving at them and smiling. Arthur obliged, along with a very handsome man with long blonde hair, a smattering of stubble on his chin, and a slightly perverted expression on his face, and a man with platinum hair, violet eyes, and a very long, ballet pink scarf.

"Hello, Feli, Lovino, Alfred, Matthew." Arthur inclined his head in greeting. "Allow me to introduce my friends. This is Francis," He indicated the blond, who winked and grinned at them all, "And Ivan." The violet eyed one smiled amiably at them all. "I already told you that Francis is a siren, and Ivan here is a basilisk."

"Ve, what's a basilisk?"

"A monster that can turn you to stone with one look, if it so desires." Arthur muttered, Ivan simply nodded.

"I am very pleased to meet you all! I am sure we will all be great friends!"

"Same here. Maybe...maybe more than friends." The siren smiled, and his words were so melodious and thick, honeyed and dripping with sweetness, that Matthew found himself nodding. "Stop charming them, you bloody frog." The atmosphere disappeared, and Matthew felt rather embarrassed. "Sorry, I cannot help it. It is the way of my kind." With this statement, Francis let out a heavy sigh, and Matthew was alerted to the man's very large, white, wings. "Anyway, it is so nice out today I thought we could tour the village, if that's okay with you." "Ve, that sounds fun!" "Hmph. Whatever, bastards. It'll probably be really cold and we'll have to wear like five sweaters." "Sounds good to me!" "A-Alright, eh." Ivan nodded, his smile unfazed by Lovino's rude attitude. "Sounds okay, da? I cannot wait to show you the village, it is very pretty."

"Hey, Mattie, before I forget, can you help me with this thing?" Alfred withdrew the strip of black fabric from his pocket and handed it to Matthew, who merely smirked and looped it around his neck. His fingers slipped easily and quickly in and out of the fabric, and he finally pulled it closed with finesse. "Thanks, bro. I can always count on you!" Alfred flashed a smile and followed the others out the door, Feli and a grumbling Lovi in tow.

Just before he left, Matthew thought he saw a black patch marking the wall out of the corner of his eye. He whipped his head around, he could sense something out of the ordinary. And there it was, a shadow, distorted against the kitchen countertop.

Then it folded in on itself, and disappeared.

"Matthieu?"

...

The village truly was beautiful. The houses were so quaint, little two story cottages made of bricks and wood. The rooftops were all bedecked with snow, glistening with crystal icicles, that they looked like iced cakes. A soft layer of snow went _crunch_ underfoot as they padded through the village, leaving treaded footprints behind. Even with the cold, bright flowers still bloomed, beautiful bursts of color that brightened up the otherwise white landscape.

"This is so beautiful!" Feli chirped, utterly delighted by his surroundings. Matthew was rather charmed by it as well. He looked around, trying to drink it all in. The locals seemed pretty happy too. Happy, and normal. They were everywhere, laughing, chatting, and otherwise having a good time in this crazy world they lived in.

 _Life is meant to be enjoyed,_ they seemed to say, _even if you're like us._

Matthew watched two men chat with each other, one rather animated, the other just listening with a dazed expression on his face. It was a sight you could have seen anywhere, except that the lively man had two sets of giant spider legs delicately extending from his back, the other, two ram's horns. Matthew smirked, he was going to have to get used to seeing those kinds of things.

"It is nice here, da? I rather enjoy the snow. Back home, it was more like raging blizzards instead of the gentle snowfalls we have here." Matthew looked up to see the friendly basilisk next to him, his scarf flowing in the sharp winter air. As they walked, Matthew noticed something odd. Wherever the man next to him stepped, instead of a _crunch,_ there was a _hiss._ Matthew looked behind him to see a trail of footprints where the snow had melted completely, instead of partially. The small patches were smoking, and the earth below had lightened to a shade of grey.

"Oh, the footsteps? Basilisks leave venom wherever they walk. It's a nice trait, but it gets really annoying when you want to visit a flower exhibition." Matthew turned to his right to see Arthur, keeping in time with Matthew's footsteps.

"You visit flower exhibitions?" Matthew asked quietly, enjoying the different shades of red that Arthur's face had become.

"I-It's...I didn't...Francis made me, okay?" Arthur eventually managed to stutter out. He tucked his tail in between his legs like a dog and rubbed the back of his neck.

"But of course I _didn't, mi amour."_ The siren had overheard their conversation and was now strutting toward them, his wings spread outward to shine in the sun. Looking closer, Matthew could see how the tip of each feather had a slightly golden sheen, as if dipped in glitter.

"You like my wings?" Francis smiled, slowly stretching out his unusual features to their full length, about six feet. "They are very showy, no? Very, very pretty." He turned his attention back to Arthur. "I just asked if you wanted to go, and you heartily agreed. Besides, I thought you liked the english roses."

"You bloody frog! You used your charm on me! I didn't even remember getting in the car! But...the roses were nice." Arthur growled again, pushing the siren off of his shoulder.

"Aha! See? Roses are the best flowers."

"I said _english_ roses. Your disgusting french roses will never be as good as the breed I know and love."

"Actually, the rose originated in China." Matthew murmured. Francis staggered back as if he has been shot.

"Such lies you spew from that ungrateful tongue!"

"Ha! Your beloved french flower originated in China! Suck on that, frog!"

This fact stunned the siren, and he was silent for several minutes.

"Why do you call him frog?"

"Because," Arthur said matter-of-factly, "He thinks himself a swan, with his large, 'beautiful' wings and all that crap, and the opposite of a swan is, in fact, a frog. A disgusting, slimy _, frog."_ Arthur stressed the last part, drawing out the syllables so Francis could hear.

"You wound me." Francis murmured, his tone brooding and melancholy. "Is it my fault I was born with these appendages? These handicaps that allow me to actually enjoy beholding my looks? My one pride?"

Arthur gave him a sympathetic look, the smile dropping from his face. "Bloody hell, Francis, I didn't mean it like that." Francis looked down at him, once murky eyes brightening. Their faces slowly drew closer and closer, Francis tipping Arthur's chin up with a long forefinger. Arthur leaned in to meet Francis's lips, his cheeks turning a healthy shade of pink. They had but merely grazed each other's lips when Arthur came to his senses and gave Francis a hard slap across the face, leaving a stinging red welt.

"Wanker! I don't even know why I bother with sympathy, it's always a goddamn ploy for attention!" Arthur screeched as the blonde skipped off, cooing like a dove.

"Ah, but it worked, _non?"_ Francis chuckled, hiding behind Ivan.

"Anyway," Arthur hissed, "I was _going_ to ask if we wanted to stop at our house, warm up a little, but now my mood is ruined so I don't think I'll bother."

"I would like to go to Arthur's house, da?" Ivan asked amiably, rubbing a section of his scarf between thumb and forefinger. "The cold is getting to the little shadow walker." This was true, Matthew's face was slowly turning blue and his teeth were chattering. Francis immediately swooped down upon the young boy, enfolding him in his large fluffy feathers. Matthew didn't mind, they were warm and soft and really quite comfy.

"Ah, poor little Mattie, all cold and sad, how tragic!" The blonde shrieked, nuzzling the top of Matthew's head with his cheek. "You're strangling me, eh." Matthew choked out, feathers brushing against his nose and inducing a sneeze. " _Tishoo_. Your feathers are tickly." Francis released the boy, pouting. "Fine, fine. We're almost there, anyway." Arthur took flight, toes skimming the crumbling earth and dark wings soaring behind him. "Ah, he is beautiful, no? A wonder of nature." Francis commented dreamily. "Its a shame that we may never interact. An angel and a demon are forever cursed to be torn apart. Forbidden love, yes?"

"You're not a fucking angel!" Arthur called down from his spot above them. "Just because you have wings doesn't mean that you're automatically a gift from god!" Francis ignored this statement and gestured to a small chalet in front of them.

"Here we are!"

It was rather cute, with blue walls and white shutters, and small flower boxes filled with white and blue blossoms under every window. Icicles hung from the gutters and snow coated the roof, giving it the appearance of a mystical cottage.

"Ve, it's adorable!" Feli squeaked, running to admire the glistening building. "Look, the snow makes it look so pretty!" Arthur touched down next to him before remarking, "Yes, it is beautiful, isn't it?" He led them up the brick path and unlocked the door, leading them inside to the warmth. Matthew sighed when he entered as the coziness of the house wrapped around him like a blanket. Francis followed behind, along with Ivan, Alfred, Feliciano, and Lovino.

The living room was also quaint, with china knick-knacks on every shelf and lots of overstuffed armchairs. A roaring fire blazed in the fireplace, and there was an endless supply of warmth and love that seemed to emanate from the whole house itself. As they all settled into various chairs and couches, Francis bustled into the kitchen to make hot chocolate. Alfred launched into a story, punctuating it with various hand gestures and causing laughter all around, Matthew included When Francis returned with the hot chocolate, the room had come alive with the sound of laughter.

...

"For the last time, reveal yourself, or we will have to punish you!" A sick crack echoed through the room, followed by a shriek.

"Like, never. That would be idiotic." The victim hissed, baring his teeth in a growl. "In that case, we might have to resort to force." A blow was landed to his stomach, causing another hiss. More blows landed, but the victim stubbornly refused to change.

"Well, that tactic failed. Any other ideas?" A voice commented. In response, the victim's keen eyes caught a glint of metal. It was pressed to his throat, the sharpened end of the blade digging into the skin and drawing beadlets of blood. "Still won't talk?" "No!" The blade dug deeper, tearing a gash in the previously unmarked skin. The blood that oozed from the wound wasn't red, but silver. "A unicorn. Just as we thought." The voice sneered, scooping a bead of blood onto his finger and examining it.

"Well, now we know. We no longer need him." Another voice commented. "True." The knife was pressed to his skin again, sawing through the tendons of skin like butter. "Your nature protects you, makes you hard to kill. But I think we can manage, huh?" The knife kept sawing, causing a guttural scream from the victim. The knife passed through bone, and Feliks' head toppled from his body, a silver stream dripping from the severed socket and pooling on the floor. The knife slashed through the bonds. causing the corpse to sink to the floor. The figures left, not even pausing to look at the body on the floor. The door clicked shut. In the silence of the empty room, the corpse shimmered, before shifting into the form of a pure white horse without a head, eyes vacant and empty. Gazing into nothing.


End file.
